Una aproximación a las representaciones del alumnado sobre el Universo

This study explains how the children from secondary school (age 14-18) represent the structure of the universe and the way it may be useful in daily teaching. The results obtained describe the same conceptualization difficulties that the younger students already have, as well as the need for studying deeply the process for learning of those students as far as, having dealt with those contents before, they have not reached the expected scientific knowledge concerning the topic

Contenidos, metodología y alumnado : una valoración crítica de la enseñanza en BUP y COU

The aim of this study was to compare the interest of the students in Natural Science in front of three other subjects such as Mathematics, Literature and Geography & History. The selected items of the contents of every subject, and the importance of teaching as an influential factor on students were also studied. The results showed that both the selection of the contents and the methods should have been modified

Direct observation of transverse and vortex metastable magnetic domains in cylindrical nanowires

We present experimental evidence of transverse magnetic domains, previously observed only in nanostrips, in CoNi cylindrical nanowires with designed crystal symmetry and tailored magnetic anisotropy. The transverse domains are found together with more conventional vortex domains along the same cylindrical nanowire, denoting a bistable system with similar energies. The surface and the inner magnetization distribution in both types of domains are analyzed by photoemission electron microscopy with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism contrast, and hysteresis loop in individual nanowires are measured by magneto-optical Kerr effect. These experimental data are understood and compared with complementary micromagnetic simulations

Evidence of Erroneous Deductions and their Possible Effects on the Initial Learning of the Concept of Cell in Primary School

En este trabajo se han obtenido evidencias sobre dificultades para procesar información referida al concepto de célula en estudiantes de escuela primaria. Se identificaron posibles deducciones erróneas que podrían establecer estudiantes de 5to grado (10-11 años) que intentaran procesar cognitivamente, y por primera vez, la información de libros de texto escolares y del discurso docente sobre el tema y se diseñó un cuestionario con el objetivo de hallar evidencia de estas deducciones. Fue posible detectar algunas evidencias de construcción de modelos explicativos incipientes siendo destacable la aparición de modelos consistentes, pero científicamente incorrectos. Luego, se aplicó el mismo cuestionario a estudiantes de 6to y 7mo grado (11-13 años) y se observó que algunos patrones de respuesta se mantenían e, incluso, se afianzaban. Estos modelos podrían dar cuenta del origen de errores o dificultades en la comprensión del concepto célula en estudiantes de niveles educativos subsiguientes.In this paper we have obtained some evidence on difficulties in processing information about the cell among primary school students. We identified possible misleading deductions that 5th grade students (10-11 years) could establish when trying, for the first time, to cognitively process information on the subject from school textbooks and teacher discourse, and we designed a questionnaire to find evidence of these deductions. It was possible to detect some evidence of incipient explanatory models. It is important to highlight the emergence of consistent but scientifically incorrect models. Then, the same questionnaire was applied to 6th and 7th grade students (11-13 years), and it was found that some response patterns prevailed and were even reinforced. These models could account for the origin of errors or difficulties in understanding the concept of cell among students of subsequent educational levels.Fil: Edelsztein, Valeria Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Galagovsky, Lydia Raquel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Argentin

Binding of Superantigen Toxins into the CD28 Homodimer Interface Is Essential for Induction of Cytokine Genes That Mediate Lethal Shock

Bacterial superantigen toxins bind directly to the dimer interface of CD28, the principal co-stimulatory receptor, to induce a lethal cytokine storm, and peptides that prevent this binding can suppress superantigen lethality

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality